• 14 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Parts of a Turbine

A steam turbine cut along its shaft, then a gas turbine: name the rotor, blades, casing and more.

Parts of a Turbine

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Rotor
  2. Shaft
  3. Moving blades
  4. Fixed blades
  5. Casing
  6. Steam inlet
  7. Governor valve
  8. Exhaust
  9. Bearing
  10. Gland (shaft seal)
  11. Coupling
  12. Compressor
  13. Combustion chamber
  14. Turbine section

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the generator the shaft turns

All 14 parts on the diagram

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Steam turbine 11

  1. Rotor The part that spins. It carries the moving blades.
  2. Shaft Carries the turning out of the turbine to the generator.
  3. Moving blades Rows of blades on the rotor. The steam pushes them round.
  4. Fixed blades Rows of blades fastened to the casing. They aim the steam at the next moving row.
  5. Casing The strong shell that holds the steam in.
  6. Steam inlet Where high-pressure steam from the boiler comes in.
  7. Governor valve Lets in more or less steam to hold the speed.
  8. Exhaust Where the used steam leaves, often to a condenser.
  9. Bearing Holds the shaft up and lets it turn freely.
  10. Gland (shaft seal) Seals the gap where the shaft passes through the casing.
  11. Coupling Joins the turbine shaft to the machine it drives.

Gas turbine 3

  1. Compressor Draws air in and squeezes it.
  2. Combustion chamber Fuel burns here in the squeezed air.
  3. Turbine section Hot gas spins these blades. They drive the compressor and the shaft.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two of these use it. (1) Wikipedia, Steam turbine and Gas turbine, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_turbine and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_turbine : rotor, fixed and moving blades, casing, steam inlet and exhaust; compressor, combustion chamber and turbine sections. (2) Millwright Apprenticeship, Related Training Modules 8.1 to 8.5, Turbines (1982), a public training text read at https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED254722 : casing, rotor, shaft, moving and fixed blades, nozzles, governor valve, glands and labyrinth seals, journal and thrust bearings, couplings; the compressor and combustion chambers of a gas turbine. (3) Croft, Steam-Turbine Principles and Practice (1923, public domain), https://archive.org/details/steamturbineprin0000terr : casing, rotor, moving and stationary blades, governor valve, glands, bearings, coupling, exhaust to the condenser. (4) US Department of Energy, How Gas Turbine Power Plants Work, https://www.energy.gov/fecm/how-gas-turbine-power-plants-work : the three main sections, compressor, combustion system with its combustion chambers, and turbine. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

For a tower with three blades, see the wind turbine diagram. This page cuts two power-station turbines open along the shaft: a steam turbine first, then a gas turbine.

Read the full guide

The steam turbine

Steam enters at the steam inlet, through a governor valve that holds the speed. Inside the casing, fixed blades aim the steam at the moving blades on the rotor, row after row, and the rotor turns the shaft. Used steam leaves by the exhaust. A bearing at each end carries the shaft. Where the shaft goes through the casing wall, a gland seals the gap. A coupling joins the shaft to the generator.

The parts of a gas turbine

A gas turbine makes its own hot gas. The compressor squeezes air, fuel burns in the combustion chambers, and the hot gas spins the turbine section, which drives the compressor and the shaft.

  • Both drawings are simple sections: real blades are curved and there are many more rows.
  • The quiz accepts stator or stationary blades for fixed blades, and combustor for combustion chamber.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of a turbine?

A rotor on a shaft, rows of moving blades on the rotor, rows of fixed blades on a casing round them, an inlet and an exhaust, and bearings and seals for the shaft.

What is the difference between fixed and moving blades?

Fixed blades are fastened to the casing and do not turn; they aim the steam or gas. Moving blades are on the rotor, and the flow pushes them round. The rows alternate along the shaft.

What are the three main sections of a gas turbine?

The compressor, which draws air in and pressurizes it; the combustion system, where fuel burns in combustion chambers; and the turbine, whose blades are spun by the hot gas.

What does the governor valve do?

It controls how much steam enters the turbine, opening or closing a little as the load changes so that the speed stays steady.

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